Archive of ‘Food in Birmingham’ category

Food Network Star Martie Duncan releases fifth cookbook with recipes and more from popular Alabama restaurants

By Chanda Temple

Alabama chef and TV personality Martie Duncan has some pretty dedicated friends and followers.

Three and a half hours before kick off of the Nov. 30, 2024 Iron Bowl, which is the biggest SEC football showdown in Alabama, several of Martie’s fans lined up inside of a historic store in downtown Huntsville, AL to get her newly-released cookbook, “The Alabama 100: Best Recipes, Restaurants & Road Trips.” The book highlights noteworthy dishes and restaurants from across the state.

Martie Duncan haș released her fifth cookbook, and it's the perfect guide to finding good food across Alabama. It comes with recipes from homegrown restaurants and suggestions of what to eat in various cities in the state. (Image provided by Martie Duncan)
Martie Duncan took time to select just the right images to go on the cover of her new cookbook. Everything from fried chicken and gumbo to orange rolls and brioche can be found in her book, which is available via various retailers across Alabama. (Image provided by Martie Duncan.)

In her fifth cookbook, Martie shares recipes for the Pimento Cheese Tomato Pie from Helen in Birmingham; Lucy Buffett’s Famous Seafood Gumbo from LuLu’s in Gulf Shores; and Crab Cakes from the 360 Grille at the Marriott Shoals Hotel, just to name a few. She also gives cooking tips.

“I love the simplicity of all the recipes that Martie features. And when I see her on TV, everything that she cooks is easy to follow,” said Misty Robinson of Hazel Green. Misty and her family drove to Huntsville on a bone-chilling Saturday morning to get the book, which features 100 recipes and 253 restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, bars and a few dives.

And Charity McLin drove in from Athens, AL to pick up a book for her mother and one for herself. Like Misty, she has other books written by Martie, and she said she is drawn to the books to try recipes for the foods she loves.

“She writes great books and the recipes are always easy to follow,” Charity said. “I can’t wait to get home and look through it.”

A Food Network Star finalist and award-winning cookbook author, Martie drove more than 5,000 miles across Alabama, worked with 3,972 images shot for the book and tried 1,012 dishes to produce content for the 239-page book. And if people don’t want to cook, they can just use the book as a reference on where to go to try some the most delicious food in Alabama.

“This book is more of a travel guide and incorporates so many more restaurants than I’ve ever been able to do in any book ,” said Martie. “Even though we focus on 12 main cities, there are other towns and cities mentioned in the book.”

Birmingham’s Martie Duncan will have several book signings in December 2024. (Photo provided by Martie Duncan)

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Life stuffed with flavor: The Little Bougie Foodie’s inspiring burger journey

By Chanda Temple

When Alice Goldsmith was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2019, doctors told her it was inoperable. They gave her two years to live.

Alice refused to take that as the final answer. She did research until she found a doctor in the Bronx with a different outlook. And on March 12, 2020, Alice had a new beginning.

She underwent a successful surgery, but the tumor, which was the size of a quarter, had left her unable to multi-task the way she used to do when she worked for an insurance provider in metro-Birmingham. She wondered what she’d do next.

Since she loved to cook, she left her desk job and decided to work with food. On Oct. 7, 2021, The Lil Bougie Foodie truck was born.

“My friends would tell me that my food was so bougie (another word for fancy),” Alice said. “I’m a presentation person, and I would make these meals with different colored peppers and red or white onions. One friend would say, ‘Hey Bougie!’ And I would say, ‘I’m not bougie. Just a little bougie.’ ”

The name stuck.

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From Pain to Pastry: How Kenya Pickens Baked Her Way to a Better Life

By Chanda Temple

Kenya Pickens graduated from culinary school in 2007 with dreams of dishing out delicious dinners.

But after working at a country club for only a few months, she lost her job. Devastated, she thumbed through the Yellow Pages, calling businesses and asking, “Are you hiring?”

More than a week later, those calls led to two job offers: being a server at a steakhouse and working at a bakery. She took both. Although Kenya had not studied baking, she settled in to learn a new skill.

Eventually, she became so good at baking, that she stepped out on faith and left the bakery in 2008 to sell her own desserts. She made five cakes a week and sold slices at barber shops, beauty shops and a discount meat market. In 2015, she started selling at Birmingham-area farmers markets while she still worked full-time jobs in various industries. Her days were long and her weekends were longer. But she knew that one day, her dedication would pay off.

Kenya Pickens opened Velvet Kake bakery in 2021 in Clay, AL, selling cakes, cookies and more. She’s grown her following to include fans of traditional and vegan desserts. (Photo Source: Kenya Pickens)

On Dec. 1, 2021, she moved into her own storefront, Velvet Kake, in Clay, Ala. and became a full-time baker. (She got the name because she sells so many red velvet cakes. Her mother, Evelyn Sherard, works in the bakery with her.)

Today, Kenya sells about 30 cakes a week.

“I should have given up a long time ago, but I kept going because I had something to prove,” said Kenya, 38.

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Eugene’s Hot Chicken is named best fried chicken in Alabama

By Chanda Temple

FabCrunch.com has named Eugene’s Hot Chicken in Birmingham, AL as having the best fried chicken in Alabama.

Eugene's Hot Chicken offers fried chicken and tenders in a variety of heat levels. They also have chicken sandwiches, shrimp and fried turkey on the menu. Sides include fries and fried okra. Their ranch dressing, which is a perfect complement to the fried chicken, is homemade. (Photo source: Eugene's Hot Chicken)
Eugene’s Hot Chicken offers fried chicken and tenders in a variety of heat levels. They also have chicken sandwiches, shrimp and fried turkey on the menu. Sides include fries and fried okra. Their ranch dressing, which is a perfect complement to the fried chicken, is homemade. (Photo source: Eugene’s Hot Chicken)

In its 2023 story, FabCrunch said it scoured the nation “to uncover the best fried chicken spots that will have your taste buds dancing with joy. From coast to coast, we’ve left no stone unturned in our pursuit of the ultimate fried chicken perfection.’’ In reviewing restaurants in every state, FabCrunch.com said that Eugene’s “perfect balance of heat and flavor will leave you craving for more.’’

Eugene’s Hot Chicken CEO and founder Zebbie Carney said he’s humbled by the recognition, citing how cool it is for someone outside Alabama to recognize the restaurant’s hard work. “It’s a blessing,’’ he said.

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Last Call Baking Co. cooks up sweet success in Birmingham

By Chanda Temple

Like many people working in the food industry, the pandemic delivered a one-two punch to Chanah Willis.

First, Willis left a bartending job in March 2020 during Covid-19. Then, Willis lost a pastry chef job at Urban Standard coffee shop when it closed in June 2020.

Not to be deterred, Willis started baking out of her home.

A following grew from her homemade pies, biscuits and tarts, which Willis sold at a church market for six months. Recognizing her talent, a businessowner let Willis use a commercial kitchen for free, which allowed her to make more baked goods and sell them wholesale to prepare for an even bigger future.

In 2021, Willis found an empty space at 213 25th St. North to open Last Call Baking Co. It took about a year and a half to build it out after it has served as a carpenter studio. But for Willis and her fans, the wait was worth it.

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Slutty Vegan to open in Birmingham on Aug. 21, 2022

By Chanda Temple

Atlanta businesswoman and philanthropist Aisha “Pinky” Cole was so impressed by the hundreds of people who stood in line for hours just to get one of her Slutty Vegan burgers when her food truck pulled into Birmingham in 2020, that she knew she had to set up shop in the Magic City.

So, on August. 21, from 12 to 6 p.m., she will open her first location in Alabama. It will be located at 77 – 55th Place in Woodlawn, which is a neighborhood in Birmingham. They will serve plant-based burgers, fries and desserts.

“Outside of Atlanta, y’all have been one of our biggest supporters, and I’m looking forward to being able to opening in Birmingham and really putting our footprint in the Woodlawn area,’’ she said. “I’m confident that we will be successful there. I think it will be a win-win for everybody because between our community work and what we do and what we can offer the City of Birmingham, I think everybody will be happy.’’

Cole founded her plant-based eatery with the unforgettable name in 2018. Today, she has five locations in Georgia. Her Birmingham location will be her sixth store. She also has plans to open stores in New York and beyond. Her four-year-old company is valued at $100 million.

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